Estimates predict that there are over 13,000 cryptocurrencies on the market today for people to invest in, but one has stood the test of time and remained popular in a way that the others simply haven’t. Bitcoin is known all over the world, with millions of users and ways that the cryptocurrency can change hands daily.
Why is Bitcoin so popular? Myriad reasons contribute to this, and we’re breaking down the story of the best-known crypto and why it is still king in most peoples’ eyes.
Adoption and Everyday Use
Market cap statistics will tell you that Bitcoin has the highest level of adoption on the market (and the highest value) as of 2024. Cryptocurrencies are often seen as speculative investments by people, but this isn’t the case for Bitcoin, as it can be used on a day-to-day basis in a way a lot of meme coins or altcoins can’t yet.
Bitcoin can be used in a crypto wallet and then sent to a variety of retailers and companies who have adopted the currency just like a traditional, flat currency.
Gambling and the casino industry have had a huge amount of power here and have helped to catapult Bitcoin to where we see it today. Top online casino brands in the USA have started to use this as their main currency or adopt it alongside others, knowing that Bitcoin offers lots of potential benefits for gamblers. Estimates say that more crypto transactions take place in the gambling industry than in any other industry.
People actually use Bitcoin in this scenario rather than just holding it, something we have seen with some other cryptocurrencies. Casino gamers can move their money around a lot more quickly using Bitcoin and also know that it is secure, as well as having low fees compared to some other methods.
BitPay is one company that has also had a role to play and helps over 250 stores to provide Bitcoin payments including some household names like Adidas. People can pay in Bitcoin and the merchants can accept the currency even if they want it to be instantly exchanged into another currency. Payment processing companies using Bitcoin is one of the ways that the currency may become even more popular.
Not a lot of cryptos can be used to buy a shirt, pay for a meal, or head to the cinema with your friends, but Bitcoin absolutely can.
Bitcoin: The “OG”
To use a modern term, Bitcoin is the OG of cryptocurrencies. Though talk of a decentralized and cryptographic currency can be traced back decades, Bitcoin was the first to put this into action.
Bitcoin is issued by mining, something still done today, and which a lot of people have heard about.
The domain name bitcoin.org first got picked up in 2008, and also that year, there was a paper called “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” sent to a mailing list centering around cryptography. This paper was by someone called Satoshi Nakamoto, thought to be a pseudonym now. This is a mysterious figure that not a lot of people know about, and there is a lot of speculation even today about whether he is a real person, or who may be behind this pseudonym.
Bitcoin gained a lot of traction in the early years and its value started to rise. In 2013, the Wall Street Journal was paying close attention and reported that 12 million Bitcoin had been mined.
Alternatives and other cryptocurrencies started cropping up within years, and today there are tens of thousands of them, but they haven’t hit the heights of Bitcoin, which is further along its journey, especially when it comes to mainstream acceptance.
It is arguable that Bitcoin is still so huge today as it got to the market first.
Big-Name Support
Big-name supporters have definitely been one of the reasons why Bitcoin has stayed on people’s minds. Celebrities and businesspeople have been outspoken in their support. Elon Musk is one that springs to mind straight away. He was quick to spot the potential and is thought to hold a lot of the Bitcoin currency in circulation through his companies.
Sports stars have also potentially helped to keep the public’s attention on Bitcoin. Huge NFL stars like Odell Beckham Jr. have agreed to take their wages in Bitcoin, and this has become a trend in a few industries. People often trust their celebrity idols and the faith many millionaires are putting in Bitcoin will have done them no harm.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrencies aren’t restricted to just one main player. It has already been shown that there are lots of potential ways cryptocurrencies can grow together, but Bitcoin is seen as the first as well as the most successful at this moment, in terms of being a household name, no other decentralized has really hit these heights just yet, thanks to big-name support and the fact it has entered daily use for many people.
